Rounding out the Governor’s Races with Haaland, Bregman and Hull 

We’re wrapping up our coverage of the primary races for governor this week just in time for early voting to expand tomorrow. As of this morning about 27,300 New Mexicans have cast a primary ballot. That number should grow considerably as more locations open in the lead-up Election Day on June 2. So, we’re glad to give you the chance to meet all the primary candidates for governor before those floodgates open.  
If you’re voting in the Democratic primary, we’ve got both your candidates on this week. While you may have seen former U.S. Interior secretary Deb Haaland and Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman debate on NMPBS last week, that was a production of Dukes Up, a charitable group that “uses unorthodox methods to engage New Mexicans in community activism,” not New Mexico in Focus. So, this week, we got to give them our usual treatment — thoughtful, critical, in-depth interviews that provide context and, ideally, a public service. 
I didn’t ask Haaland and Bregman the exact same questions, but I did try to hit on many of the same topics to help you parse their positions and where they differ. We talked data centers, private equity, the state Children, Youth and Families Department and education. We also discussed what are arguably each of the candidates’ signature issues: public safety for the DA and natural resources preservation for the former head of the Interior. I asked Haaland why a voter who considers crime their top issue should support her over Bregman. And I queried him about public lands protection — a centerpiece of Haaland’s campaign. If you’re voting in this race, my hope is that these back-to-back interviews will be a good resource in deciding which candidate resonates most with your values and vision for the state’s future.  If you’re voting in the Republican primary, we’ve got a big interview for you, too. After some scheduling issues led to just two of the three GOP candidates for governor appearing on last week’s show, we’re pleased to bring you former Rio Rancho mayor Gregg Hull this week. And, if after you watch, you want to remind yourself about what Doug Turner and Duke Rodriguez had to say on the issues, you can rewatch last week’s show on YouTube or the PBS app.  
Striving for fair treatment and equal time, we planned out 10 questions for each of the three candidates this week, not including follow-ups. Split evenly, we had 18 minutes of airtime to give each of them. With all three interviews clocking in between 21 and 23 minutes, we trimmed them down, giving priority to the most robust and informative answers.  
You’ll also see factchecks pop up on every one of these interviews, including last week’s. While NMiF Politics Correspondent Gwyneth Doland and I did our best to catch any errors in the moment, that’s a tall order when candidates are throwing around statistics and rankings. So, our team combed through every interview for each claim and verified them one by one with the strongest sources available. So, if a fact check doesn’t appear on the screen, you can be confident that what the candidate is citing is accurate.  

I hope the results of our efforts booking the candidates, writing questions, conducting the interviews, and carefully cutting for time and factchecking prove to be helpful to you as you make your choice in such a consequential primary election. See you tonight!  
-Nash Jones, Host